Electrical signal and automatic alarm for railway-trains.



N0, 643,|48. I Patented Feb. I3, I900.

' J. K. MILLER, J. W. WITT & D A. JONES. ELECTRIC SIGNAL AND AUTOMATIC ALARM FOB RAILWAY TRAINS.

(Application filed July 13, 1899.) (II 0 M 0 11 9'1 2 Sheets-Sheet Wweg Q U m a S B m A M B F T Y B A tsw n E EN" aoA P J on R A 0 F m j l. 6 m WM 0 JT U A E D L" m A M I. M m S l B 8 T 4 C E 3 l- 4 E 6 n" N (Application filed July 13, 1899.)

2 Shaets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

lTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES K. MILLER, JULIUS WVITT, AND DANIEL A. JONES, OF OSHKOSI-I,

' WISCONSIN.

ELECTRIC SIGNAL AND AUTOMATIC ALARM FOR RAILWAY-TRAINS.

SPEGIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 643,148, dated February 13, 1900.

Application filed July 13, 1899.

$eria1No. 723,660. (No model.)

following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

Our invention relates to devices for signaling from one end of a railway-train to the other and for sounding an alarm in the event of said train breaking in two; and it consists in certain peculiarities of construction and combination of parts, as will be more fully set forth hereinafter and subsequently claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a diagrammatic representation of a railway-train equipped with our devices. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of our coupler on the line 2 2 of Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a horizontal longitudinal sectional view of the same on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse sectional view of the same on the line at 4. of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a detail view of a portion of the same. Fig. 6 illustrates a slight modification.

Referring to the drawings, Fig. 1, A indicates the engine, B an intermediate car or coach, and O the caboose or last car of a railway-train.

D indicates an electric bell in the engine, andE a like bell in the caboose.

F G indicate the respective engine and caboose batteries.

H I represent the pairs of electric couplers between each member of the train. There are three wires used, so as to get a return-current without waste, thus comprising a metallic circuit and a signaling-wire, as hereinafter explained.

It will be understood that beneath each car or coach the three wires, properly insulated, are secured, said wires terminating at each end by a proper connection to the adjacent members of the couplers H and I, so that when coupled up each one of said three wires extends independently of the others from one end of the train to the other, said wires being insulated from each other in the couplers when connected. Hence, as indicated in Fig. 1, wire 1 runs from one pole of the battery F to the opposite pole of battery G, wire 2 runs from the other pole of battery F to the push-button a in the engine and from the adjacent contact-point b to the 'bell E in the caboose and from said bell to the opposite pole of battery G, and wire 3 runs from wire 2 in the engine to the bell D and from said bell D to the contact-point d in the caboose and from the adjacent push-button c to wire 2 in the caboose. It will thus be seen that when our device is coupled up, as shown in Fig. 1,

the circuit is open, but that the operator in the engine can signal the caboose and ring bell E in the latter by pressing push-button 0t against contact-point b, which closes that circuit, and that the operator in the caboose can signal the engine and ring the engine-bell D by pressing push-button cagainst-contactpoint d, thus closingthe circuit, and it is obvious that any other signals can be used in place of or in addition to the electric bells indicated and that telephones may be employed at the points D E, if desired. J K indicate switches of any preferred construction, one in the engine and one in the caboose, so that all three wires at either point may be discon- 8o nected at any time, as desired-forexan1ple, when switching or making up the train, as hereinafter explained.

Referring now especiallyto Figs. 2 to 5, We

will next describe our electric coupler, which forms a most important part 01' our present invention. This coupler consistsof two members H and I, one member being the counterpart of the other, and each member comprises a block h or i, of suitable insulating material, 0

such as fiber, recessed or bored out to receive the operative parts and inclosed in a suitable casing, preferably of metal. At their meeting ends each member is reduced one-half in thickness, so that when coupled their upper and lower surfaceswill be flush with each other, and at their outer ends each member is provided with a bail Z, mounted on a jour nal f, extending transversely through said member, whereby each member may be 'su's- Ioo pended from a relief-chain g, secured to the end of the car,coach,engine,or caboose to take the strain off the wires 1 2 3 in the coupler, making-said chains g do the pulling in place of the wires in uncoupling, as hereinafter explained. In practice the couplers extend diagonally between adjacent ends of cars just beneath and parallelwith the air-brake couplings for greater convenience, and hence the said relief chains would be similarly attached at diagonally opposite points.

Each fiber block 71 and t' is provided with an upper and lower set of three holes longitudinally therethrough, the upper holes in block it being lettered jjj in Fig. 3 and one of the lower holes being shown in Fig. 2 and marked 70, said two sets of holes being connected at the outer end of said block by vertical holes 1% m m, said connected holes be ing for the reception of the double pins n op, the part a, which extends nearly through the holej, being secured in place by a screw q, whose head in the form shown in Fig. 2 is below the metallic casing of the block h to secure insulation therefrom. Beyond this point the part it is tubular and centrally open on its top or outer surface, as shown at r, for the reception of a spiral spring 3, said spring surrounding a spindle t, projecting from the end of the tube nearest the screw q, while beyond this open part the tube 02 carries a sliding rod it, having an upward projection 42 at the end next the spring 5 and preferably a short spindle w projecting within said spring toward the other spindle t. The upper part of the block it is cutaway above the three holes 3 5 jjj, and a transverse metallic plate L is secured across the block at one end of saidcutaway portion, said plate having an .inner angular flange 00, against which the described projections o of the sliding rods u make contact at certain times, as hereinafter explained, and the described cut-away space is filled in by a plate M, of fiber or other insulating material, which is cut out on its under side to afford room for a limited play of the said projections 12. The opposite ends of the sliding rods to are formed with recesses y therein. The parts 10 of the described double pins are received in the described holes and terminate in pointed ends 2. The parts are shorter than the tubular parts it, and the connecting parts 0 have secured thereto the non-insulated ends of the wires 1 2 3. This description of the block hand its attachments, holes, double pins, 850., applies equally to the block i, except that as this latter block is in a reversed position the relative terms of upper and lower or above and below should be necessarily reversed; but the parts j ust described are marked with the same reference-letters in block 2' as in block h.

As shown in the drawings, the described metallic casings of the blocks are secured thereto by suitable screws, and for convenience of access the said casings may be cut away at the points where the platesM are inserted, cover-pieces N being applied to com' plete the exterior casings here and secured by screws, as shown, and similarly end pieces 0, perforated for the passage therethrough of the insulated wires 1 2 3, are slipped to place over the ends of the members H I and screwed thereto. The details of the casing are u nimportant, and ,if desired,pieces of fiber on one member within a depression S formed in the casing of the other member, each member carrying one tongue and each member having one depression, the said tongue R passing through guard-loops T, as shown.

When the members H I are coupled'together, as shown best in Fig. 2, the pointed ends .2 of the parts 19 of the double pins in one member enter the recesses y in the ends of the sliding rods to in the tubular parts it of the double pins in the other member and push said sliding rods u back within the tu- ;bular portions of the parts it against the force of the spiral springs 3, thus forcing back the upward projections 12 on said sliding rods away from contact with the flange :1: of the .metallic plate L. Thus, as heretofore stated,

each wire 1, 2, and 3 is independently and continuously connected from one end of the train to the other, and each wire when the members H I are thus coupled together is completely insulated from the other wires, the double pins n 019 and sliding rods u forming the metallic links between the ends of the wires. In this connected condition the operator at either end of the train can signal the operator at the opposite end of the train at anytime in the manner already described.

As clearly stated,'the two members H I of each of the electric couplers are held together by the engagement of the tongues R Q on each member within the depressions S in the casings of the other member, and this will hold said members firmly together in the ordinary travel of the train; but should said train break in two at any point, then as the two parts of the train separate the described relief-chainsg g on the adjacent ends of the cars or coaches thus separated (which chains are shorter than the adjacent ends of the wires 1 2 3) will pull each on its attached member of the coupler and draw said member apart, so that each will simply hang down on its relief-chain g without any disturbance of the wires 1 2 3 connected to each member, and the moment that the said members H I separate the springs s s s will force the sliding rodsto u it forward, so that the projections 41 o v on said rods will make contact with the flange 5c of the metallic plate L in each member, thus closing the circuit and simultaneously ringing the bells at each end of the train, (whichfbells will continue to ring until the circuit is broken by the switches J and K,) and this ringing will at once notify those in the engine and caboose that the train has broken in two. In making up trains, switching, and coupling and uncoupling cars this ringing of the bells would be of course a nuisance; but this is readily obviated by means of the described switches J K, which are moved to disconnect the wires in the engine and caboose until the train is completely made up or when a car is to be uncoupled, after which the switches are reversed and the wires on the entire train are connected, as first described, ready for signaling from end to end of the train and for sounding an alarm in the event of the accidental breaking in two of said train. It is obvious that, if desired, each or any coach or car may be similarly provided with the batteries and bells or other signals or telephones bymaking the proper connections to the three wires secured to the said coach or car; but in the case of freighttrains it would be only necessary to thus equip the engine and caboose, as already stated.

In Fig. 6 we have shown a slight modification, whereby the screws q may be utilized for testing the coupler H I. In said figure it will be noticed that the said screw q, instead of having its head below the metallic casing of the block h, is outside and above the same, the said casing and cover-piece N being perforated to allow the shank of said screw to pass therethrough without contact, and beneath the head of the screw the-re is a washer U of insulating material. Thescrew q in the block i of member I would be similarly arranged. By this arrangement the heads of the screws q q may be utilized as testingplugs, and in order to ascertain if the coupler is in order it is only necessary to connect an electric bell in circuit with the two screwheads and then if the bell rings the coupler is in perfect order; but otherwise this test would show that the coupler was out of order.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- v 1. In an electric signal and alarm device,

arms of unequal length, and a spring-controlled slide connected to the longer arm of each double pin and provided with a contactlug, whereby when the two coupler members are brought together, the shorter arm of each double pin in one member will push back the closing casing with catches for holding said two members together, said members being shouldered or offset at their meeting edges, and provided with upper and lower series of holes extending longitudinally therethrough; series of double pins, connected with the signal-wires, and having arms of unequal length fitting in said holes, the longer arm of each pin comprising a slotted tube; spring-controlled slidingrods in each tube, the inner ends of said rods having contact-lugs projecting therefrom through said slots; transverse metallic contact-plates arranged above said tubes; and the shorter arm of ,each double pin engaging with the outer ends of said sliding rods, whereby, when the two members are a brought together, the said sliding rods are pushed back, against the force of the springs,

and the contact-lugscarried away from en-, gagement with the said transverse contactplates, and whereby the said lugsand plates are forced into contact by the said springs, whenever the two members of the coupler are separated.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing we have hereunto set our hands, at Oshkosh, in

the county of Winnebago and State of VVisconsin, in "the presence of two witnesses.

JAMES K. MILLER. JULIUS W. WITT. DANIEL A. JONES.

Witnesses:

A. J. BARBER, F. J. BARBER. 

